Baker's secret: 'I love eating'

RACHEL ALLEN is set to have her own show on Discovery Travel & Living. She shares some of her secrets with Abhilasha Ojha

You are regarded as the “queen of baking” in Ireland. What lured you to baking?
That’s a tough one. I wanted to do something creative. There was a time when I wanted to design shoes too. Considering my father had a shoe business, that would’ve been simpler. Ironically, I didn’t like the idea of being a chef in a restaurant kitchen. But I’d been baking as a kid and it’s an art that has always fascinated me.

So, how did you step out of the family kitchen to get into baking professionally?
For starters, I left home in Dublin at 18 to study at the world-famous Ballymaloe Cookery School. By the end of the first day, I realised that my heart was in baking. The course was structured and we learnt about everything — from the soil where we plant vegetables, to focusing on ingredients, to graduating to interesting recipes and dishes. I loved every moment of it and today, I’m back in school — this time as a teacher.

What, in your words, is challenging about baking?
Personally, a lot of research goes into combining ingredients and flavours. For instance, one of my preparations is a cross between the Indian samosa and an English Cornish pasty and oozes with generous fillings of blue cheese and bacon, goat cheese and sausage. It’s challenging to create a lime yoghurt cake with pistachio; it’s all about mixing well all the delicate flavours that create a compelling impact.

When you bake, you’re essentially setting a dish to perfection after combining all the varied ingredients. You cannot turn back the clock. Once your dish is set, it is set.

Do you experiment a lot?
I tend to tilt towards the classic combinations actually. They work best for me. I stick to basic techniques and then try variations. So, my classic meringue can have variations — raspberry swirls, for example.

What’s the secret behind good cooking, or baking?
There are good days when I feel absolutely creative and can’t wait to get into the kitchen. But there are days when everything is dull and I experience a mental block. But the bottom line is that one should love not just cooking but also eating. That’s the secret to being really good in the kitchen.